Donald Trump is poised to appoint Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chairman this Friday, following an extended period of tension with current chair Jerome Powell.

Warsh, who previously served as a Fed governor, was a strong contender in the 2017 selection process that ultimately led to Powell’s appointment. On Thursday, Trump continued his criticisms of Powell, labeling him a “moron.”

Trump is expected to choose a chairman who supports interest rate cuts, a move he has criticized Powell for resisting. Just this Wednesday, Trump dubbed Powell “Too Late” for his stance on rates.

On Thursday, Trump and Warsh had a meeting at the White House in preparation for the announcement, as reported by Bloomberg.

The president mentioned that the official announcement would take place during the premiere of the new documentary about his wife, titled “Melania.”

‘I’ll be announcing the Fed chair tomorrow morning,’ Trump said, ending the five month quest to replace Powell.  

When asked if he’d already made a decision, he confirmed: ‘I do, I better, otherwise I have to go to work very quickly.’

His search was led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with four known finalists: Warsh; Christopher Waller, a current Fed governor; Rick Rieder, an executive with the financial firm BlackRock, and Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council. 

Donald Trump announced he will name the new chairman of the Federal Reserve Friday

Trump has spent months feuding with the current chair, Jerome Powell

Trump, in the past, suggested that Hassett was the front-runner, only to recently say that he wanted him to remain in his current post. 

‘It’s going to be, somebody that is very respected, somebody that’s known to everybody in the financial world. And I think it’s going to be a very good choice. I hope so,’ Trump said.

Trump did say on Thursday night that ‘a lot of people think that this is somebody that could have been there a few years ago,’ fueling speculation that he had chosen Warsh. 

Powell, a Republican, has been a fixture in the nation’s capital for decades, where he developed a reputation as a centrist. 

However, Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for refusing to sharply cut interest rates, publicly floating his removal and accusing him of ‘incompetence.’

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, despite heavy pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs.

After cutting rates three times last year, Fed officials now say inflation remains too high and the economy too stable to justify further reductions.

Unemployment has steadied and economic growth has held up, even as price pressures remain above the Fed’s 2 percent target.

Trump has repeatedly called for large rate cuts. Since returning to the White House, the president has escalated attacks on the Fed, moves officials warn could threaten the central bank’s independence.

Powell, a Republican, has been a fixture in the nation’s capital for decades, where he developed a reputation as a centrist. However, Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for refusing to sharply cut interest rates 

In addition, Trump’s Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations. 

The investigation plunges the nation’s central bank into a political and legal firestorm, dramatically escalating President Donald Trump’s long-simmering war with the man who controls US interest rates.

The inquiry was approved in November by US attorney Jeanine Pirro, a longtime Trump ally who was appointed to lead the DC office last year. 

The investigation focuses on Powell’s congressional testimony, internal records, and spending tied to a sweeping overhaul of the Federal Reserve’s historic buildings near the National Mall – an ambitious project that has ballooned hundreds of millions of dollars over budget.

Trump denied any involvement in the probe, but blasted the Fed chair for his management of the central bank. 

The president has also suggested legal action over the renovation project, which is now estimated to cost roughly $2.5 billion.

In a rare video message released after the probe was announced, Powell called the investigation ‘unprecedented’ and directly challenged its legitimacy.

‘This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings,’ Powell said.

In addition, Trump’s Department of Justice has served the central bank with subpoenas and threatened it with a criminal indictment over his testimony this summer about the Fed’s building renovations 

‘It is not about Congress’s oversight role; the Fed through testimony and other public disclosures made every effort to keep Congress informed about the renovation project. Those are pretexts.’

Officials familiar with the investigation said Powell and the Federal Reserve have been served with grand jury subpoenas, and prosecutors in Pirro’s office have repeatedly requested documents related to the renovation. 

The Justice Department has not publicly detailed the evidence under review.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to comment on the Powell probe but said Bondi has ‘instructed her US attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuses of taxpayer dollars.’

The renovation project at the center of the controversy began in 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in 2027. 

It involves modernizing and expanding the Marriner S. Eccles Building and a second Fed building on Constitution Avenue – structures that date back to the 1930s and have not undergone comprehensive renovations in nearly a century.

Fed officials have said the overhaul is necessary to remove asbestos and lead, upgrade aging infrastructure, and bring the buildings into compliance with accessibility laws for people with disabilities. 

Trump has long teased his Fed choice while saying his nominee would slash interest rates that influence the supply of money in the US economy, the rate of inflation and the stability of the job market.

On the cusp of Trump’s announcement, Powell might have the ability to block him in an effort to ensure the Fed preserves its credibility by staying away from political considerations.

While his term as chair ends in roughly three months, Powell’s term on the Fed’s board of governors runs through 2028 and he could choose to remain in that post, likely blocking Trump’s ability to have his nominees control the majority of the seats on the board. 

Of the seven Fed governors, former President Joe Biden picked three of them in addition to renominating Powell to a second term as chair.

At a Wednesday news conference, Powell declined to say whether he would leave the board. But he did offer some advice to any successor about balancing the need for independent judgment with public accountability.

‘Don’t get pulled into elected politics — don’t do it,’ Powell said. ‘Another is, that our window into democratic accountability is Congress. And it’s not a passive burden for us to go to Congress and talk to people. It’s an affirmative regular obligation.’